Panaji, Nov 4 (IANS): With installation of a solar panel on one of the fishing trawlers in Goa, the state government has decided to seek help from the Centre over fitting such devices on the trawlers.

Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar after inaugurating the solar panel system said it will benefit trawler owners.

"There is a need to generate power. The solar system on trawler will help this community to save on fuel. In future we will try to meet the union power ministry to seek help for fishing trawlers," Dhavalikar said.

Minister for Fisheries Nilkanth Halarnkar told IANS that if this system works properly on trawlers, the government in future will try to seek subsidy for it.

"This particular trawler owner has installed this solar system at his own cost. If this experiment gives positive results then we will think of expanding it to others with the help of the central government," Halarnkar said.

There are around 897 trawlers registered with the fisheries department.

Though the engine of the trawler will not run on the solar power, however, the water pump and other usages are done using these solar panels, which helps to save on diesel cost.